Red peppers roast in Fowler truck-trailer fire

Two semi trucks and five trailers burned Sunday morning at Trius Trucking in Fowler, costing the company nearly an estimated $1 million in damage.

Fire erupted in the truck yard at 2692 E. Lincoln Ave. around 7:30 a.m. Firefighters had it contained within 20 minutes of arriving close to 9 a.m., Cal Fire Captain Will Goodman said.

One of the trailers was loaded with red bell peppers from Nogales, Arizona, and another with lettuce and other produce from Salinas, Trius employees said on scene. They didn’t know what — if anything — the other three trailers carried, but said it could be goods such as more produce, water or poultry. They called the fire a fluke.

Firefighters let the fuel burn for a while before separating the trucks from their trailers.

Around 11 a.m., one semi truck that remained ablaze erupted in bigger flames as a tow truck slowly pried it apart from the trailer. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky as firefighters drowned the truck in water and fire retardant. The smells of burning metal, fuel and smoke combined and spread in the breeze.

Fresno County Fire Battalion Chief Chris Bump said it appears the fire came from the trailer area, not the truck. He said the cause appeared to be mechanical but that it’s still under investigation.

Trius manager J.T. Singh said the equipment was new — one was acquired last week, another two weeks ago and the other three likely sometime last year. He said the truck drivers were not in the trucks when the fire erupted but the trailers were running air conditioning to keep the produce fresh. Security guards and mechanics were there to call for help.

Singh said the loss will set the company and employees back. The company owns around 120 trucks.

“These guys, their trucks are burnt,” he said. “Now they don’t have a truck to drive. You think about them as well.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2015 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Red peppers roast in Fowler truck-trailer fire."